New York Times economic columnist Binyamin Applebaum writes today that there's much to tout in President Biden's stewardship of the economy. Some key excerpts:
"As he begins to ask voters for a second term, Mr. Biden can make a strong case for his stewardship of the American economy. His determination to treat the economic effects of the Covid pandemic with large infusions of federal aid eased the pain of the crisis and propelled a rapid recovery, notwithstanding a painful spike in inflation that has left a sour taste in the mouths of voters. His administration also has made creative use of its regulatory authorities to shift power to workers and consumers from corporations.
But it is Mr. Biden’s reinvigoration of the government’s role as the nation’s most important investor that may endure as a turning point in the nation’s political and economic history.
Investments, like saplings, do not yield immediate fruit, and Mr. Biden has struggled to generate public enthusiasm for these long-term strategies.
He deserves more credit. Government investment plays a critical role in the nation’s economy. It provides the means to develop ideas that aren’t yet ready for the market, the power to turn ideas into products, the roads to deliver goods to consumers. America’s prosperity in the late 20th century was the harvest of its investments after World War II. [snip]
There also remains one respect in which Democrats should take a page from Mr. Reagan. In 1984, his campaign aired a famous ad declaring that it was “Morning Again in America.” Mr. Biden has grounds for making the same claim. His economic policies, if they are carried forward, hold the promise of opening a new era of prosperity.
The end of Mr. Reagan’s ad is worth repeating, too.
'Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?'” (our emphasis)
Why indeed.
